Nigel Gibson, one of Aslef’s full-time district organisers and the union’s lead officer with MTR, said this week: “Taking action is always a last resort, because we do not want to inconvenience passengers and our members do not want to lose money, and I hope that the company, seeing the strength of feeling amongst our members, their drivers, will do the right thing and return to the negotiating table.”.
Pressed on whether he thought drivers should simply accept the pay rise on offer and drop the threat of strike action, the mayor said: “No, I’d encourage MTR and Aslef to talk about the differences they’ve got and resolve them amicably, which is really important.”.
Mike Bagshaw, managing director at MTR-Elizabeth line, said: “We are disappointed that drivers on the Elizabeth line have rejected a 4.5 per cent pay rise and voted for industrial action.
Keith Prince, City Hall Conservatives’ transport spokesman, suggested the issue could be traced back to the mayor’s decision to avert RMT strikes on the Underground in January 2024, when he suddenly produced £30m in City Hall funding to boost the annual pay rise for 16,000 Tube staff.
Sir Sadiq told the Standard: “I think what’s really important is for MTR - who run the Elizabeth line - and Aslef to resolve these differences amicably, rather than going on strike.
